The Pony Scrolls I: Skymane
by Swilkie
Summary: Follows the adventures of a pegasus mare named Violet Storm who is suffering from amnesia and her group of friends, plus her quest to vanquish all the dragons! What will she discover about her past along the way? OC centered. **OC SUBMISSIONS CLOSED.**
1. Chapter 1: Clouded Memories

_Okay people, here's my story. I've been wanting to do a MLP fanfiction for awhile, but I couldn't come up with an idea, until I realized I should just combine the two things I love the most in the world._

_MLP and Skyrim!_

_So I hope it's as epic as I'm planning it to be XD_

_Don't forget to post a review! But be nice, as this is one of my first fanfictions and my very first MLP fanfic so...yeah :3_

**Chapter 1: Clouded Memories**

"Ugh...my head..."

A dusty grey pegasus mare with a black and deep purple mane opened her eyes groggily. She looked around her slowly, a pounding headache reverberating throughout her skull. As her eyes were having trouble adjusting to the bright sunlight, not much could be seen except for the splintered wooden bench she was seated on.

_THUMP!_ The mare grunted in annoyance as she was bounced painfully on the wooden bench. Some of her mane fell into her face from the impact. She tried to lift a hoof to swipe it to the side, but found that when she lifted her hoof the other one followed. Curious, she brought them up close to her face to identify the issue. It took a few moments for her to see the tangled rope holding her hooves together. It took a couple more seconds to notice the dried blood around the rope. She assumed this was from her trying to break it and the rope chafing her skin, although she remembered nothing of the sort.

"You look a bit confused...do you know where you are?" asked a voice nearby. The mare's head whipped up to find the speaker, the sun finding its way into her golden amber eyes, nearly blinding her.

"Wh-Who are you?" she asked, embarrassed and angered by her own fear. She wasn't comfortable with not being able to see the owner of the voice. She heard a chuckle.

"Would you understand if I told you that some things are not meant to be said until the prime moment?" asked the voice, the hint of a laugh still lingering.

The grey mare's eyes were slowly becoming more adjusted to the bright sunlight. She could now see the shady outlines of trees moving by her, which was confusing. The bench shouldn't be moving, should it...?

The voice spoke again, closer this time, in a hoarse whisper.

"If we get out of this mess, meet me in the keep."

What mess? What keep? Who _was_ this mysterious speaker? These questions and several more bounced around her head as her eyes became accustomed to the light even more. A silhouette appeared before her, and she could see that it was a pony even through the dizzying blurry film of sunlight. Slowly, the pony came into focus.

It was obviously a stallion. His coat was the color of wet sand and the tangled blonde strands of his mane fell haphazardly in front of his face. His eyes were the same green-blue as the ocean on a cloudy day and his cutie mark was a golden shield bordered in red. His front hooves were also bound, and his eyes had a tired look about them, yet he had the slightest hint of a smile.

The mare's amber eyes were fully adjusted now, and she could finally scan her surroundings. She found that it was not a bench she was sitting on, but an open carriage drawn by two chocolate brown stallions. Another pony, a light tan stallion clothed in scaled leather armor and equipped with a gleaming steel sword at his flank, manned the carriage at the head. His mane was shaved almost completely off, and his tail was cropped short and braided with a band of crimson ribbon holding it together. The mare also found that she was not alone in the carriage with the strange pony. Another pony with a dark brown coat flecked with grey and a matted black mane, with his hooves also bound, sat opposite the mare and to the right of the first stallion that spoke. He turned his head toward her now, and looked her over as if he was sizing her up for a fight.

"Ah, so she's finally awoken, eh? Had a nice nap, did we?" growled the stallion sarcastically. The grey mare just glared at him and looked away, toward their destination down the road. She could just barely see a small settlement growing ever closer as the carriage rumbled onward.

"Almost there, prisoners. If you're gonna be making any prayers, best do it now," grumbled the armored pony manning the carriage. Prisoners? The mare was beginning to worry. Where were they going? She glanced toward the two stallions and saw their faces stricken with fear, and only then did she notice a third stallion, gagged and sitting the farthest away from the rest as possible. She leaned toward the first pony.

"Who's that?" she whispered, pointing her roped hooves at the mysterious loner.

"They say his name is Ulfric Stormhoof...he murdered the High King in cold blood...some claim he used only his voice!" replied the pony in a dramatic voice. The mare leaned back in her seat and pondered this information. How could somepony _murder_ somepony else with just their voice? Nothing made sense... She wished she could remember what had happened to her before all this. Maybe that would clear things up.

Just as these thoughts crossed her mind, the carriage was enveloped in shadow as it passed underneath a massive archway. The shade lasted for only a few seconds before they were lighted by sunshine once again. The carriage began to slow as it rolled through the settlement and reached its final destination. The group of ponies rattled by several fillies playing and rolling in the dust, who stopped in their play to stare at the carriage with wide eyes. As the carriage passed, the mare could hear the voices of the fillies' mothers urging them to go back inside their houses. Many adult ponies also stopped to stare on their way past, but these stares were filled with hatred and a trifle of fear.

Suddenly, the carriage lurched to a stop in what seemed to be a circular town square. Two other carriages, filled with ponies in a similar state as the ones in the grey mare's carriage, were waiting in the circular area. Several armored ponies stood guarding the carriages, and several more were circled loosely around an indented block covered in dried blood. An equally bloodied basket lay in front of the block. The mare saw movement in the corner of her eye and looked up. Along the rooftops, scores of archers stood readying their crossbows to fire on command.

One of the guard ponies, who looked like the leader of the group, began to speak, reading from a scroll of new parchment.

"On this day, Sundas the Fifth of Second Seed, the following prisoners convicted of treason, thievery, murder, and other serious crimes shall be put to death by official decree of the Empire."

At this, he looked up at the ponies in the carriages, and spoke toward them.

"Step forth once you hear your name, and follow _all_ instructions given to you. If you deviate from the instruction, you _will_ be shot." He gestured to the archers on the rooftops with a toss of his mane.

"Now, shall we proceed?" No one answered. He cleared his throat loudly.

"Right. Lamar Starlight, step forward." The grumpy dark brown stallion from the mare's carriage brushed past her, bumping her intentionally. She glared at him as he stepped down onto the cobblestone to stand in front of the lead guard.

"Are you Lamar Starlight?" asked the guard, in a tone that suggested he had stated a similar line a million times before. The stallion just grunted an affirmative in reply, and a few guards rolled their eyes. The mare could hear quiet whispers between the guards about how convicts were _so_ unrefined.

The lead guard gestured with his hoof to a small guard pony nearby, who dashed nervously toward the grumpy prisoner. He then proceeded to cut through the prisoner's bindings with a dagger that badly needed sharpening. It took about a minute to get through the rope, and the other guards were noticeably uneasy. It was easy to tell they did not enjoy being there.

As soon as Lamar was freed of his rope bindings, he took off down the street that ran through the town, galloping for his life. But he only got about twenty feet before he was shot dead by five archers firing at the same time. The grey mare watched his legs crumple beneath him as he rolled along the street from the remaining momentum of his gallop. One of the guard ponies trotted up to his body, nudging his flank with his nose. Then he lifted his head and proclaimed, "He is dead!" The lead guard turned his head back toward the prisoners.

"Well, I hope that taught all of you what _not_ to do." He cleared his throat again before proceeding.

"Now! Let's see who's next...er... Well, I uh..," he stuttered. He drew the parchment nearer to his face and squinted his eyes at it. When he apparently did not find anything new, he shook his head, opened and closed his eyes a few times, and read it again. When, again, he had no luck, he beckoned to a female guard pony to help him.

After reading the parchment for herself, the guard whispered something in the lead guard's ear.

"But, that's not in regulations, I'm not sure if I am allowed to do that..," the lead guard replied. The other guard just shook her head and said, "Fine. I'll do it myself," and snatched the paper from the leader.

"Now, you there! The one with the purple and black mane! Come here!" she exclaimed, staring straight at the grey mare. The mare shuffled her hooves and looked around her awkwardly, but she was the only pony there with a purple and black mane, and she knew it. She slowly got down from the carriage and trotted quietly up to the female guard.

"Good. Now, Pipsqueak, cut her loose from her bindings!"

The small guard pony from before trotted forward with confidence and sawed back and forth on the grey mare's rope. It took even more time than before, and the mare thought the suspense would kill her. Finally, the rope strands splintered and frayed away from each other as the bindings were cut. Pipsqueak stepped back respectfully to let the female guard pony speak.

"Now, young mare! What is your name?" asked the guard sternly.

The mare was quiet for a few moments, and the air was unbearably still. She had no idea what her name was... How could she, when she couldn't remember anything? She searched her brain frantically for her name, or even a few words she could go off of. But nothing came. Her mind was blank.

"Well?" asked the guard, tapping her hoof against the ground in impatience.

Suddenly, an intensely strong and fearsome gust of wind blew through the treetops and whistled through the thatched coverings on the houses, forcing many ponies to take a few forced steps in the direction of the wind. The mare looked up at the sky and saw several dark storm clouds gathering slowly. As her face was tilted up, a tiny cold raindrop collided with her nose, which startled her into backing up a few steps. As she watched, more and more tiny droplets fell from the sky and splattered against the cobblestone streets.

_FLASH! _The image of the sky morphed suddenly into an image of her soaring through a dark forest, the raindrops almost black in the night sky. Thunderclouds boomed overhead, the exact same color as her coat. She reveled in the feeling of the wind ruffling her mane and swirling through her wings...

_Storm_.

The word appeared in her mind, clear as the image of the sky that had reappeared before her. She lowered her head to gaze fearlessly into the female guard pony's eyes. She noticed the guard's irises had a purple tinge to them...

_Violet_.

"My name...is Violet Storm." said the pegasus with dignity. Just then, she felt an overwhelming feeling of euphoria and felt as if she was glowing. Slowly, the feeling became concentrated on her flanks, and she felt one moment of pain, and then it was over. She looked over her right shoulder and found that a symbol had appeared on her haunches. It looked to be three purple swirls of wind decorated with black raindrops.

_Alright, there it is. Da first chapter :P hope you guys liked it! And I know, there are a few inaccuracies with both MLP and Skyrim, but what I'm trying to do is just take elements I like from both of them and create a story from that. So, there's gonna be some stuff that's a little different. I hope you don't mind :/_

_I will be posting new chapters on either Mondays or Thursdays of every week. (I'll try at least)_

_Oh, and before I forget, if you would like your OC to be in the story, I am accepting OC submissions by private messaging._

_SO SEND THEM PONIES MY WAY AND I'LL TRY TO GET 'EM ALL IN! :D_

_And don't forget to post a review, but please be nice :)_


	2. Chapter 2: Flame and Shadow

_Hey guys, sorry this one took so long... I've been procrastinating :P I know, I know, shame on me._

_Anyway, here it is and I hope you enjoy!_

_Night Shade belongs to skullcrusher206_

**Chapter 2: Flame and Shadow**

The guard pony's eyes widened visibly at the discovery of Violet Storm's cutie mark, but her voice did not waver when she spoke next.

"Yes...Violet Storm, step up to the block."

Violet gulped and walked slowly over to the bloody execution block, her legs shaking in fear. As she got closer and closer, she could smell the stench of death in the air. When she reached the block, the executioner pony shoved her head down onto it so that the side of her neck was exposed. The impact caused a small trickle of blood to dribble down from the back of her head, but she hardly cared at this point.

The executioner raised his axe over his head, preparing to bring it down on Violet's neck. _I'M GOING TO DIE, I'M GOING TO DIE, I'M GOING TO DIE_... she thought. The executioner pony's dark cloak ruffled slightly in a sudden wind as he brought down the axe. Violet squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the worst...

RROOOOOAAAARRRR! The ground rumbled beneath the execution block, bumping Violet off of it and rolling her to the side. Guards could be heard running this way and that, shouting orders. She opened her eyes and tried fervently to get to her hooves, but found she was unable to stand for long. She saw the executioner pony struggling to pry his axe out of the block, where he had apparently brought it down after she rolled away. She tried to stumble away from the scene, keeping her eye on the executioner just in case he got his axe free; when he was suddenly enveloped in a pillar of flame, stretching high into the sky. Violet screamed and backed up faster, causing her to trip over a loose stone in the street. She fell flat on her back, knocking the wind out of her lungs. There was a short moment of total unawareness where she couldn't hear or see anything except the cloudy sky above...

Until a dragon flew right over her. She immediately snapped back to attention and was finally able to get to her hooves without falling over. She stared up at the beast as it flew in a wide circle around the town, looking for its next target. She attempted to cover herself under an overhang, where she watched the chaos unfold.

The dragon circled back around and swooped down low over the settlement, spewing a napalm blast over the town square that easily exceeded 1,000 degrees. Guards were incinerated almost instantly, their screams ringing in Violet's ears. The remaining few guards took out their crossbows and attempted to shoot at the dragon, to no avail. The beast was too agile for common crossbow bolts, and they whizzed by its great form harmlessly. Violet could see it was about to swoop down again, and it was coming straight in her direction. She knew she should move, but she was frozen in fear. She watched it descend upon the town square, growing bigger and bigger as it got closer. Violet saw its maw open wide...

And gobble up the lead guard whole, armor and all. Its wings flapped away from its body, and the claws of its feet scratched the cobblestone as it landed. It settled down on all fours and stared straight at Violet with unguarded loathing.

The first thing Violet noticed was the dragon's massive size. Its head was almost the length of two full-grown stallions, and each razor sharp claw extended at least two yards from its fingers. The dragon's tail, which was now swinging back and forth in anticipation (effectively crushing several houses in its wake), was covered in small barbs with a large spiked spherical structure at the tip. Its scales were a deep iridescent purple and the dozens of spines along its back were a shining emerald green. Its forest green eyes looked almost as if they were glowing with hatred.

As Violet was noticing these things, the dragon began to _speak_.

"Sililuuth kepesk. Wux zklaen loreat. Coi ui igsita persvek wer sjiri." Violet could feel the vibrations from the dragon's great voice reverberate through her chest as it spoke.

Violet felt a small tingle from deep inside her when she heard these words, but she could not figure out what they meant. All she knew was that the phrase sent a chill down her spine and reeked of foreboding.

She scanned the town square quickly for an escape route, but found only crumbled burning buildings and the mangled charred bodies of guard ponies littered about. There was complete silence except for the dragon's steady breathing and the flickering of small fires here and there. Violet again looked around for a place to run, but saw nothing. She was nervously aware of the dragon's intense mocking stare as she did this. With a frightened jolt, Violet realized that it was just playing with her. If it wanted her to be dead already, she would be.

As the dragon shifted its weight to one side, Violet spotted a narrow alley located directly behind its hulking body. She made a split-second decision and galloped madly toward the dragon, causing it to smile in anticipation. As she neared the dragon, it swiped a giant clawed hand at her. She rolled to the side in the middle of her gallop to dodge the blow, causing her to stumble a little when she got back up, but she continued galloping afterward until she was just a few feet from the dragon's face. She saw its neck muscles tense, and she transferred her momentum into a well-placed slide underneath the dragon's belly. It's jaws snapped inches away from her tail as she slid underneath it.

Her slide carried her almost all the way to the entrance of the narrow alleyway, and she had to scramble to her hooves and try to make it the rest of the way before the dragon did. The beast whipped around faster than Violet could have predicted, sending its tail flying straight into Violet's side. She was knocked away from her previous trajectory and her body collided with one of the crumbled houses near the alley, causing small cracks to spread out around her on the wall in a spiderweb pattern. Violet slid down the wall, an intense throbbing pain in her ribs.

She tried to focus her eyes on the dragon, but millions of little multicolored spots were clouding her vision. Her ears were ringing painfully. She stood up shakily, almost not able to tell which way was up. Presently, Violet somewhat vaguely realized that she was running toward the alley entrance again, and that the dragon was drawing back a clawed hand to swipe at her. She reached the entrance and curled up in the narrow passage, covering her head with her hooves just as the dragon's claws scraped across the opening to the alley. This caused the entrance to collapse completely, the only openings now the top of the alley (which Violet dared not fly through, for fear of the dragon catching her) and the other end (which she dared not run through, for fear of the dragon possibly waiting around the corner). So she resorted to waiting there in the middle of the alley, shivering and curled in the fetal position.

It seemed to be quite an extensive period of time that she lay there, listening to the growls, scraping, and the flapping of wings as the dragon attempted to excavate her from the narrow alleyway. No matter what her memory loss prevented her from knowing, she was quite sure this was the most frightened she had ever been in her entire life.

Suddenly, a great roar could be heard from the dragon. A few seconds later, Violet heard the loud blast and hissing that happened when the dragon was breathing napalm. But Violet could only hear the blast of flame, and only slightly feel its warmth. Odd. She figured if the dragon was breathing fire at anything, it would be her.

Curious, she fluttered up to the roof of one of the buildings creating the alley, and peered over the edge. Her golden amber eyes widened considerably in disbelief and awe at the scene before her.

A charcoal black unicorn with a light grey and blood red mane was battling it out with the dragon. And he was actually _winning_. He was as quick on the ground as Violet was in the air, and the beast's lumbering body couldn't keep up. The dragon had multiple deep gashes that looked to have been caused by the gleaming double edged sword now floating in the unicorn's blood red magic aura. The dragon looked extremely weakened, and little sparks were flying out of its mouth because it was breathing so hard.

"Psst! Hey! Get down, before it sees you!"

Violet almost shot straight in the air in shock as she heard a voice coming from the alley floor, and whipped her head around to see who had startled her.

It was the same sand-colored pony from the carriage. Violet flew back down and landed in front of him, sending a small cloud of dust and debris billowing around her hooves.

"Where have you been during all this? I thought everypony was dead!" shouted Violet.

The stallion shushed her vigorously and quickly covered her mouth with his hoof. She struggled for a few moments, until her defiant gaze locked with his stern ocean-blue eyes, and she realized he wasn't messing around.

"Shhh! That guy is distracting the dragon for YOU, so we can get you out of here!" whispered the pony urgently, removing his hoof from her mouth. "If that thing hears your awful complaining, it will come after you! Do you want that?"

Violet shook her head, now afraid to make any sound at all. Although she was reluctant to listen to him when he was talking to her in such a condescending tone.

"I didn't think so. Now follow me, I know a place not far from here where you can be safe for a time," said the stallion, turning to leave the alley through the back. "Oh, and my name is Hadvar."

Violet didn't respond. She just followed his quick pace out of the alley, being extra careful not to trip over any stray debris lying around. The pair trotted swiftly through the settlement, Violet relying entirely on Hadvar to know where to go. She wasn't quite comfortable with trusting someone this much, but she didn't really have another alternative.

They weaved in and out of houses, narrow streets, and piles of flaming rubbish until they reached a dead end. A twenty foot wooden wall separated them from freedom.

Hadvar sighed. "...I must have taken a wrong turn...this was supposed to be the main gate _right here_..," he muttered to himself. Violet was beginning to worry. The sounds of battle between the strange stallion and the dragon were fainter now, but still close enough to make her quake with fear.

Hadvar trotted back and forth in front of the wall for several minutes, apparently tracing their path on his mental map of the town. The sounds of battle grew slightly closer, and Violet found herself frequently glancing over her shoulder nervously. Finally, Hadvar bounded away to the left, staying near to the wall so he could see it as he galloped. Violet followed uncertainly, hoping they didn't get lost again.

Presently, the wall ended and the large open front gate could be seen not more than fifty feet from their hooves. Violet began to run faster toward it, until Hadvar caught her tail between his teeth and pulled her back.

"What? Isn't that the big fancy exit we've been searching for? Let's go!"

Hadvar shook his head and brought a hoof to his lips to signal for silence.

"Not yet...Night Shade and the dragon have shifted their battle up the street from the town square...meaning if you step in front of these houses," he gestured toward the corner of a burning cottage to their left, "the dragon will surely see you, and the whole plan will be for naught."

Violet realized Night Shade must be the brave pony fighting the dragon for her. In the back of her mind, she idly wondered why everypony seemed to be trying to save her...

Hadvar cautiously peeked around the corner of the cottage, and then trotted back to Violet with a troubled look on his face.

"They've gotten closer... We may have to try to kill the dragon. It might be the only way to get you out of here alive," he said grimly. Violet gulped nervously. If it were up to her, she would never have to look that thing in the face again. But she figured she should trust this guy. Hey, he got her this far right?

"Come on, I'll go distract it so Night can kill it; you gallop toward the gate as fast as your hooves can carry you, and start flying once you see a town a bit bigger than this one on the horizon! And whatever you do, _do not look back_!" yelled Hadvar. Violet nodded and turned to run towards the gate. The sand-colored stallion who had so quickly become her friend turned in the opposite direction to face the dragon.

_DON'T LOOK BACK, DON'T LOOK BACK, DON'T LOOK BACK_, she told herself over and over in her head. She resisted the urge when she heard another napalm blast, closer than was comfortable. And she resisted again when she heard the dragon's deafening roar and the shouts of the two stallions. And again when the sickening squelch of something sharp slicing through flesh could be heard.

But she stopped dead in her tracks and turned herself fully around at the sound of Hadvar's hoarse scream ringing through the ashy air.

The tussle was less than thirty feet away from Violet. The weakened dragon was snapping at a tired and wounded Night Shade, while Hadvar lay on the street, his blood slowly forming a puddle around his body. From this distance, Violet could barely make out that a giant gash ran across Hadvar's midsection, presumably from one of the dragon's razor-sharp claws. She wanted to run and help him, but she was frozen in place, and she didn't know what she could do for him anyway.

Night Shade had been considerably tired out from the ongoing fight, and he wasn't dodging all the dragon's attacks anymore. Occasionally, a claw or fang would graze him, causing him to wince and cry out. But still he held strong. Violet admired his perseverance and willpower, but she knew that wouldn't help him much if he received a few more serious injuries.

The dragon could sense it was winning. It had its prey cornered against a group of houses, and was closing in fast. Just a couple more seconds, then it could just gobble up the bothersome pony once and for all...

But Night Shade had other plans. In a final burst of energy, he lifted is great sword over his head and swung it at the dragon just as it lunged for him. The sword knocked aside the dragon's head and gave it a deep cut in the side of its neck, making it roar in pain and stumble backward. Night Shade continued to advance on the beast once it was stunned, and inflicted several more cuts to its face and neck, before the beast finally couldn't take it anymore. It breathed a blast of flame in a random direction in frustration and took off into the sky with one great flap of its massive wings. It soared high into the sky and hovered there for a moment, fixing Night Shade in a glare of hatred. The stallion returned its gaze fearlessly, and spit in the dust where spots of the beast's blood lay in puddles.

"Si geou qe spical! Si geou qe spical!" roared the great dragon as it flew away at an indescribable speed and disappeared behind the distant mountains.

_Yep. Sooo that's it. This is what took me a whole two weeks to write... I need to really stop reading Homestuck and focus on my writing __

_Oh, and a friend of mine proposed I write a story about the life of Lamar Starlight up until his death (in ch. 1). Tell me if you think I should do it in your REVIEW which you are most SURELY getting ready to type write now ;D right?_

_haha jk you dont have to post a review, but they are greatly appreciated and I will respond to all of em. Don't be afraid to give me suggestions or criticism!_

_and PM ME THOSE OCS GUYS! IM PUTTING EVERY OC I RECEIVE INTO THE STORY!_


	3. Chapter 3: A Light Within The Darkness

**Chapter 3: The Light Within the Darkness**

_Sorry this took so long...I've had it done for awhile, but I haven't had a chance to post it. But to make it up to you, I'm posting not one, but TWO chapters today! Enjoy!_

Violet Storm flew quickly over to Hadvar's body, assessing his injuries. He had a few cuts and scrapes on his face and legs, and a deep gash across his stomach that was gushing blood profusely. Violet frantically looked from side to side, searching for something that could maybe staunch the bleeding.

"We should get going. We're losing daylight," said Night Shade gruffly, walking toward the open town gate. Violet flew into the air and landed stiffly in front of him, blocking his path.

"What about Hadvar? Are we going to just leave him here to die?" yelled Violet, angered by Night's lack of compassion.

Night Shade thought a moment, his brow furrowing. Finally, he replied.

"...alright. I suppose we can carry him to Riverwood."

Violet gave him a slightly perplexed look at the mention of this new place. Night Shade rolled his eyes a little and sighed.

"Riverwood is the city we are headed toward. I have a friend there that may be able to help us...with our current situation. And there will probably be somewhere Hadvar can recuperate," he said, not looking directly at her. Violet trotted back to Hadvar, and carefully lifted him by latching her arms through his from the back. She then sort of half dragged half flew him over to Night Shade, where she placed Hadvar gently onto the other stallion's back. This would have been a fairly easy process, except for the agonized moans escaping from the injured pony every time Violet moved him. She hated seeing him like this.

"Get something to tie around him to put pressure on his wound. And try to find some rope or something to secure him to my back," ordered Night Shade, not even quivering under the dead weight of the other stallion. Violet hated being told what to do, but she knew he was right, so she set out to find the supplies. She spotted a tattered blue linen tunic barely hanging onto a deceased peasant pony, and swiftly made her way over to it. She tore it the rest of the way off with her teeth, and grabbed the ring belt also tied around the corpse. Then she brought them back to the waiting stallion and began to sloppily tie the tunic around Hadvar's stomach.

"You could work a little faster you know. We need to get to Riverwood before nightfall," said Night impatiently, glancing toward the setting sun on the horizon. Violet just glared at him and continued situating the tattered tunic around Hadvar. When she finished, she wrapped the belt around both Hadvar's and Night Shade's torsos, and had Night tie it with his magic.

"Can we leave now?" asked the gruff stallion, tapping his hooves against the dusty ground impatiently.

"Yes, YOUR HIGHNESS, we can leave now," said Violet, rolling her eyes as she flew over him and leisurely fluttered through the open gate.

"Don't get too far ahead!" shouted Night, a hint of genuine concern betrayed in his voice. Violet turned herself around and upside down in the air to give him a quizzical smile.

"Are ya worried I'm gonna attract another big scawy dwagon and hurt myself?" she said, laughing and spiraling away further down the road.

"I'm not worried..," he said, pouting. "I just went through so much trouble to save you from that dragon; it would be a shame if it all went to waste." Night Shade then proceeded to hold his head high and march down the path, a stern smug look on his face.

Violet rolled her eyes and continued flying for a few minutes, enjoying the rush of wind against her face. She slowed down a little, spreading out her wings so she could glide for a bit. The feel of the air splitting the feathers in her wings soothed her, and almost made her forget the traumatic experience she had just gone through.

Violet Storm heard a high-pitched bark followed by a chorus of growls from down below, and circled around to get a better look. A group of large wolves were surrounding Night Shade and closing in on him. He backed up cautiously, not noticing the towering wall of rock behind him. Night was being cornered, and didn't even know it!

"Night Shade, you're gonna be trapped if you back up any more!" shouted the mare, hovering about twenty feet over his head. Night looked up at Violet for a moment, giving her a questioning look as if he hadn't heard her. The wolves noticed his brief lapse in focus, and took the opportunity to attack.

The largest one pounced first. He bared his teeth and spread out his claws as he collided with Night Shade's flank. Night cried out in surprise as he was toppled over and pinned down by the wolf, crushing Hadvar beneath him in the process. Hadvar groaned in protest, but was too weak to free himself from under the heavier stallion. A pool of blood began to spread around the two stallions and the wolf from Hadvar's wound reopening.

The wolf growled savagely and lunged at Night's throat with his fangs extended. Night turned his torso quickly to avoid the attack, causing the wolf's kanines to graze his shoulder. The pony grit his teeth, clearly in pain, but he did no more to show it.

Violet Storm figured she should probably help him out, so she narrowed her eyes and dove down toward the attacking wolf. She reached it in less than a second, turning to kick it in the back of the head. The force killed it instantly, all of its weight falling onto Night and Hadvar. They both grunted from the extra pounds, the pool of blood growing ever larger. Violet swooped back into the air to prepare for another dive.

The other four wolves circled the two stallions, their yellow eyes filled with hunger. Night Shade got to his hooves painfully and pushed the dead wolf aside, Hadvar still secured to his back, and returned their glares. Violet dove again, killing another wolf, and swooped back up. The remaining wolves grew closer to the two ponies on the ground. The pegasus aimed at the wolf closest to Night Shade, preparing to dive again. She shot down at her target with blinding speed, aiming one hoof at the wolf's head...

But it moved aside with speed almost matching hers, and her hoof collided with the dry ground, twisting her leg and smashing into the ground on her side. She tried frantically to get to her hooves, but the intense pain in her right back leg and right wing were too much. She collapsed in the dust, eyeing the wolf now walking menacingly toward her.

Night Shade took his eyes off of the two wolves advancing on him to glance nervously at Violet and her predicament. He thought quickly and then drew a dagger out from his dark leather belt and levitated it toward Violet in his red magic aura. Violet caught it between her teeth and waited for the wolf to grow closer. She saw its leg muscles tense as it was about to leap, and flipped the dagger in her mouth so the blade was facing away from her just as the wolf pounced. The blade sunk deep into its neck, a dying yowl escaping from the wolf's jaws. Violet pushed the heavy fowl-smelling corpse aside and whipped her head from side to side nervously, preparing for another attack.

But her worry was unnecessary; the last two wolves were focused entirely on Night Shade, sensing that he was growing weaker. Violet tried to stand up again to help him, but failed miserably, her legs crumpling beneath her. Thoughts were spinning through her head faster than she could recognize as she tried to come up with an idea of how to save them both, or at the very least Night Shade. Only one thing came to mind.

"H-Hey! Over here!" she yelled, directing her shout toward the two wolves advancing on Night. One of them turned its head quickly and fixed its gaze on Violet. She gulped nervously as it turned its body to stalk toward her. Before it had crossed the halfway mark between it and Violet, it leaped unexpectedly and landed on top of her. She struggled to free herself, slashing shallow cuts into the wolf's chest and legs with the dagger, but the wolf barely seemed to feel them. It plunged its head down to her neck, grabbing hold of it and biting down hard. Violet screamed as she felt the sharp fangs digging into her flesh, searching for her jugular. She barely registered that the blood staining the wolf's muzzle and the ground all around Violet's body was her own.

Suddenly, a bright red light illuminated every inch of Violet's vision and the pain in her neck subsided somewhat; she was sure this was it. _I'm dead_, she thought. But when the light didn't fade after a few seconds, she was forced to close her eyes as not to be blinded by it. A few more seconds went by, and her ears registered that a great blast was being created along with the bright light. She curled up into a little ball, afraid of these new sensations all around her.

Finally, the small amount of light leaking into her eyes though her eyelids faded slowly. She stayed curled up on the ground for several minutes after the light went completely away, quivering in fear. She distantly felt someone poking her side repeatedly, and opened her eyes after about ten seconds of this, prepared to lash out at whoever the annoying pokey McPokerson was.

She opened her eyes to find a very tired-looking Night Shade standing over her.

"Night...what was that?" Violet asked quietly. Night Shade sat down on the dusty road and slowly surveyed their surrounding for a moment before replying. The bodies of all five wolves lay motionless on the ground, scattered in a large circle. Two of the wolves could barely be considered wolves anymore, they were so torn apart.

"I'm not really sure...but I think it came from me," replied Night shakily. Violet watched as his legs began to tremble, and then he collapsed on the ground next to her, panting heavily. He closed his eyes slowly, and fell into a deep sleep in a matter of seconds.

"Okay, well...I guess we could take a break then..," said Violet, mostly to herself considering Night wasn't waking up anytime soon.

_Night Shade belongs to skullcrusher206_


	4. Chapter 4: A Cloudy Night

**Chapter 4: A Cloudy Night**

_Here's that second chapter I promise :P_

BOOOOOOOMMM! A loud faraway blast woke a medium-sized white pegasus from his afternoon nap. He sat straight up in bed, his cyan eyes wide with shock.

"What in the hay was that?" he yelled, practically falling out of his bed of straw and assorted blankets to stumble toward his window. He tugged aside the curtain roughly, pressing his nose against the glass and squinting to try and see through the thick film of dust coating it. When he found he couldn't see a thing through the dirty glass, he snorted in annoyance, causing a big cloud of dust to billow around his face. He immediately began coughing and spitting, backing away from the settling dust cloud.

"Dear Celestia, I have _got_ to clean up sometime..," he muttered to himself, knowing full well he would probably never get around to it. He decided he may as well go wandering around outside for awhile, now that his nap had been so rudely interrupted.

The stallion trotted over to an equally dusty mirror in his bedroom and flapped his wings rapidly to clear some of the dust away. He peered at himself in the mirror, frowning when he saw the poofy tangled mess that was his mane. Grumbling, he smoothed it down with his hooves as best as he could.

The result was a quite stylish black fringe-cut with a streak of grey running through it. The longer part fell in front of his left eye, and he tossed his head to the side to get it out of his face. Of course, it fell right back where it had been before, but that didn't stop him from constantly repeating the same action.

Once the stallion's mane had been fixed, he walked over to a small trunk in the corner of the room that held most of his belongings. He opened the large lid, the rusty hinges creaking from years of use. Inside, a crumpled grey hooded vest lay on top of various other items, including an old sword sheathed in leather and a faded wooden crossbow. The stallion grabbed the vest with his teeth, glancing at the sword longingly. It had been too long since he had felt the balanced weight of the fine blade as he swung it through the air. But those days were long gone.

Still grumbling about losing his precious nap time, the snow white pegasus pulled the vest on over his head and opened his heavy wooden front door. A nice cold breeze drifted into the small house as soon as the door was opened, and it felt so good after the stifled environment inside that the pony decided to leave the door cracked slightly while he went out.

He was about to begin his walk through town when he noticed the coals in his blacksmith forge were still burning red hot. Odd. The last time he had used his forge was two days ago, when he had completed an order of three hundred Imperial swords for the Empire.

_Maybe Alvor was working on a project..?_ he thought, but he knew his cheery trustworthy apprentice would not work the forge without asking his permission beforehand. But as this laid-back pony was not one to worry, he just shrugged it off and dumped some old ashes on the coals to cool them off.

He swiftly threw his hood up and walked leisurely through the small town he had called his home for almost ten years. He passed by several familiar ponies who were performing the last tasks of the day before they went inside their houses to have dinner. A sharp pang of loneliness struck the pegasus at the thought of these ponies' loving families laughing and talking around a dinner table, but he brushed away the pain quickly, not wishing to dwell on a subject that depressed him.

Passing by the local general goods store, he spotted his apprentice walking up the road toward him. Smiling, the pegasus trotted up to the smaller chocolate-brown earth pony, who smiled in return and greeted the white stallion warmly.

"'ey, Cloud Chaser, 'ow was yer nap? I thought you'd be sleepin' a bit longer though. Somethin' wake ya?" asked Alvor, feeling real concern for his master and friend.

Cloud Chaser snorted. "Yeah, I heard a big explosion or something...I don't know what it was."

"Hmm...I sure 'ope it wasn't comin' from the mines," replied Alvor, gesturing behind him down the road. "Somepony should really go check it out to make sure nopony's hurt or nothin'."

Cloud Chaser nodded, imagining the great peril the miners could be in.

"Would ya like me to find a pony willin' to go check on 'em?" asked the small apprentice, awaiting his master's orders. Cloud thought about this for a moment, a strange feeling telling him to go see for himself what caused the blast.

"Nah, I'll go myself. Would you mind looking after the forge while I'm gone? It seems like there might be some troublesome colts messing with it lately," said Cloud, already trotting briskly down the road toward the mine.

"No problem, I'll keep mah eye on it!" shouted Alvor. Cloud didn't reply, speeding up his trot a little.

...

"Night...come on, wake up! We've gotta go, it's getting really dark!"

Violet was shaking Night Shade vigorously, glancing toward the setting sun worriedly. Her efforts did not seem to be working; the black stallion didn't stir from his sleep.

Hadvar had been consistently groaning in pain the whole time Night had been asleep, his moans growing ever quieter. Violet didn't think he could last much longer. She scanned the area around the trio, looking for somewhere to shelter Night and Hadvar while she went to get help. She spotted a small cave-like opening in the cliff face a ways up the road, and set it as her destination. Grabbing Night Shade by gripping the belt holding him to Hadvar firmly in her jaws, Violet painstakingly dragged the two stallions to the opening. It turned out it was actually a mine, which somewhat brightened Violet's spirits. _Maybe there's somepony in there who can help us_.., she thought.

She knocked on the doors with both her hooves, shouting hoarsely for somepony, _anypony,_ to help them. But no answer came. Violet tried kicking in the doors, but found it was too painful to try, what with her injured leg. Eventually she broke down crying, sliding down against the doors on her back and closing her eyes.

Presently, she heard the sound of hooves urgently pounding against the ground from not far up the road.

"Holy Celestia, what _happened_ to you guys?" shouted a voice, the hooves now right in front of Violet Storm. The mare opened her eyes slowly, tears clouding her vision. When she saw the blurry outline of a white pegasus pony standing in front of her, she wiped her eyes and stood shakily.

"W-We...*sniff* got attacked...and *sniff* dragon and *sniff* just casually strolling down the road, minding our own business, and *sniff* wolves! It was awful!* stuttered Violet, the other pony almost unable to figure out what she was saying. He did, however, catch the word "dragon" in her stumbling attempt of an explanation.

_This is bad_.., thought the stallion.

"Hey, it's uh, it's alright...Why don't you guys come back to my house in Riverwood. The town's just up the road, come on," he said, moving over to support Violet's weight. Violet nodded her thanks, until she realized the obvious problem.

"Wait! Night Shade won't wake up though, and he has to carry Hadvar!" said Violet, tears beginning to flow again. The other pegasus had no idea who this Hat Fart was, but the name Night Shade certainly rang a bell. He lay Violet down gently and trotted up to the sleeping charcoal black unicorn.

"Hey Night Shade..," he whispered, "...WAKE UP YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR A RESPECTABLE UNICORN, LEAVING A NICE MARE LIKE THIS JUST SO YOU COULD HAVE A NICE LITTLE NAP, WELL NAPTIME'S OVER, SO GET THE HAY UP OFF YOUR RUMP AND GET MOVING!"

Night jumped up in surprise, his limbs flailing about wildly. One of his random jabs hit the white pegasus in the face, sending him flying back a few feet and landing on his back in the dirt.

"Wha- Wait, what happened?" yelled Night Shade, completely alert and awake.

The white stallion got up and dusted himself off, glaring at Night. Night Shade's eyes widened when he saw the other pony.

"...Cloud..? Is that you?"

Cloud Chaser rolled his eyes. "Of course it's me, idiot, who else has this fine mane going on, huh?" he replied, tossing his mane seductively. "Nopony, that's who."

Night resumed his usual gruff attitude, simply grunting at Cloud's narcissistic comment.

Violet had been watching this encounter with wide eyes."You guys know each other?" she asked.

The two stallions looked at her.

"NO, we just HAPPEN to know each others' names." replied Cloud sarcastically.

Night grunted again.

Violet laughed, unable to see how these ponies could possibly be friends.

Cloud supported Violet and Night carried Hat Fart, no I'm sorry *cough* Hadvar, as the group worked their way slowly up the road to Riverwood. Hadvar's blood leaked down Night's flanks as the movement split his wounds again, and the black unicorn tried his best to ignore it.

Finally, after the sun had disappeared fully beneath the horizon, the four ponies arrived at the town. They stumbled together over to Cloud's house, Alvor standing by the forge and giving Cloud Chaser an inquiring glance. The pegasus just shot him a "don't ask" look and continued inside, grateful that he had thought to leave the door open.

Inside, Cloud led Violet to a couch and laid her down gently onto it, the grey pegasus mare already asleep. He then removed Hadvar from Night's back and tended to his wounds, giving him fresh bandages and draping a cool cloth on his forehead. After his work was done, he confronted Night Shade.

"What are you doing back here? I want a straight answer," he demanded.

Night Shade stared coldly into Cloud Chaser's eyes. "We can talk later."

"No, we are talking _now_," Cloud retorted, backing Night into a corner. The unicorn sighed quietly.

"Fine...but can we talk away from her?" replied Night, gesturing toward Violet sleeping soundly on the couch. Cloud nodded, leading the other pony into an adjoining room.

_Hope ya liked it! I'll try to work faster in the future..._

_Night Shade belongs to skullcrusher206_

_Cloud Chaser belongs to lyonsaki_


End file.
